Tipton: Borders must be secured first

U.S. Rep. Scott Tipton said this week that he believes a compassionate course of action should be in place to solve immigration problems.

Scott Tipton

But first, he said, the borders must be secure.

Tipton, a Republican who represents the 3rd Congressional District, said during a visit to Pueblo that “the world has changed.”

“In 1986, there were 3 million people here illegally, and now there are 11 million. Now, there is a threat of terrorism through porous borders.”

He said that not only the Mexican borders are in question, but the coasts and the Canadian border must be included.

“After 9/11, they captured a terrorist at the Canadian border who was on his way in (to do damage in Los Angeles), so it’s four access points that must be secured,” he said. “And there’s horror on the southern border with drug cartels.”

The two-term congressman said that securing the southern border will take time and money, but detection equipment that has been improved in the country’s many military missions this decade can help “hear” people coming over — or under — the border.

“I don’t know what a good number of people trying to get in who are stopped is,” Tipton said. “Ninety percent?”

An improved guest worker program will be a boon to the situation, he said, allowing people in who want to work and also help businesses who need the help.

“There’s a Colorado-grown solution, the Red Card,” he said. “There is a verification system and employers don’t have to be enforcers.”

If an employer needed 500 people, he said, then that many who have undergone a background check would receive the card, which has a biometric indicator which would preclude transfer. If a business pays for the process, but a worker with a card finds a better job, he may switch jobs and the second employer would have to pay a portion of the initial cost of the program.

Tipton said something had to be done for people who are brought to the country illegally when they were young.

“I met someone who told me he didn’t know until recently he was not an American citizen,” Tipton said.

One-size-fits-all bills are a problem and Tipton said he would not like a “comprehensive” bill, but to see more legislation addressed on a step-by-step basis.